


The odd duet

by DisneyStrangerIT



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), M/M, Reddie, Stenbrough
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-01-12 11:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18446057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisneyStrangerIT/pseuds/DisneyStrangerIT
Summary: Eddie has a secret. He can sing. And play piano. He never told anyone because his mom always told him it wasn’t ‘manly enough’.  He would always stay behind after school and would practise in the music room. Eddie’s friends had no idea where he was after school, until one fateful day, a certain trashmouth happens to go past the music room…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fan fiction is my pride and joy

Eddie’s leg shook anxiously. The clock that hung abound the whiteboard ticked too slowly. Whispers and tapping of pens on desks filled the tight classroom. Eddie just couldn’t focus. He blew a strand of his brown hair out of his face. The clock’s ticking got louder in Eddie’s ears. Eddie nervously chewed the end of his pen. The teacher’s talking sounded like blah blah blah to him. All the noises filled Eddie’s ears and he couldn’t wait for the class to be over. It seemed as time slowed down every time the hands on the clocked ticked. A piece of crumpled paper flew across the room. Eddie’s eyes darted frantically around the room. The clock got closer to 3:30pm. More babbling from the teacher, more pen tapping, more paper thrown. A barely audible groan escaped Eddie’s lips. The torture of geometry being last period was really getting to him. All of a sudden the bell rang and Eddie had never felt more relieved in his life. Within a flash, Eddie stuffed all his belongings into his black backpack and swung it on his back. He darted out of the classroom faster than he ever had. The hallway had flooded with students eager to leave school, which made Eddie’s journey to his locker harder than it needed to be. His small frame managed to push through the crowd and make it to his locker. As Eddie sorted through his organised locker, a small thud was heard next to him, signalling that someone was leaning against the lockers. Eddie grabbed his small, brown leather journal and slammed his locker shut, only to be greeted by a pair of soft, brown eyes underneath a pair of coke bottle glasses.

“Hey Eddie Spaghetti,” Richie said with a big grin.

“Hello trashmouth,” Eddie muttered, rolling his eyes. Richie’s eyes wandered curiously down to the journal in Eddie’s hand.

“Whatcha got there?” he asked, trying to reach for it. Eddie’s arm flinched to behind his back.

“Nothing!” Eddie squeaked. Richie could see how red Eddie’s tan skin was on his face. He shrugged it off, not wanting to upset Eddie.

“So the losers are going to the diner, you coming?”

“Uh no, not tonight. Busy.”

“Again? You’ve ditched us every time for the past 3 weeks.”

“I’m sorry Rich, you know my mom.” Richie’s heart sunk into his chest. His mind was going to the worst. What if Eddie didn’t want hang out with the losers anymore? Did he say something to upset Eddie? Was it his fault? He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt his glasses being slid up against his nose. Eddie was pushing his glasses back up for him.

“They were falling off and it didn’t look like you were gonna do anything about it,” Eddie said sheepishly. Richie’s grin came back to his pale, freckled face. He pinched Eddie’s cheek and shook it slightly.

“Cute, cute, cute!” Richie exclaimed. Eddie turned a bright shade of red and he tried to cover it up with his hands. Eddie glanced at his calculator watch and nearly freaked. His chest tightened. He couldn’t afford to be late again. He reached into his shirt pocket for the one thing he didn’t want to grab, his inhaler. After a couple of quick puffs, Eddie felt his chest opening and he could breathe properly.

“I’ve got to go, talk tomorrow?” Eddie asked. Richie nodded with a goofy smile. The smile was contagious because Eddie felt one that crept onto his face. They gave each other a fist bump before Eddie walked off. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest. Eddie didn’t want to ditch his friends, basically his only friends, but this was something he found important. Though he still felt guilty lying to Richie about why he couldn’t come. The journal was held tightly to Eddie’s chest as he made his way to where he needed to be. Relief washed over Eddie when he reached the most unexpected place. The music room. Slowly opening the door, he was greeted by the music teacher, Ms. Edith, stacking up the rest of her papers.

“Oh Eddie you just made it!” She exclaimed. “You know the drill.”

“Yes m’am,” Eddie responded. He put his bag down on the ground. Ms. Edith handed Eddie the keys before walking out, trying to balance the stack of tests and folders. Once she was out of sight, Eddie closed the door and went over to the grand piano in the corner of the music room. He opened his journal to his music sheets and carefully placed it on the sheet music stand. Taking a deep breath, Eddie placed his shaky hands onto the piano keys.

“Do, Do Re Do, Do Re Mi Re Do,” Eddie sung as he played the notes. He thought the knot in his stomach would go away once he started playing. All it did was get tighter.

_“Momma I played the piano and sung a song today!”_

_“Eddie-bear, you know that’s not something boys do.” “But momma I loved it-”_

_“Eddie-bear boys build stuff and fix things, not sing or play instruments. Now let’s get you your pills.”_

_“Yes momma.”_ Eddie held back the tears as he begun to play his original song.

**_Why is it like this?_ **

**_Why can’t life be different_ **

**_Some things need to change_ **

**_So I can do something magnificent_ **

Eddie’s fingers delicately touched the keys, his voice strong and clear yet a certain gentleness to it

_**Life is a box** _

_**You can’t live outside it** _

_**Because if you do** _

_**You’d take a hit** _

Tears rolled down Eddie’s slightly freckled cheeks. His heart was thrown around, stomped on and crushed by his own mother and he couldn’t take it anymore. Eddie slammed his journal shut. He pushed out the stool but didn’t get up. He just sat there, fresh tears coming down his face. His eyes were puffy, his cheeks stains and Eddie was sure he looked like a mess. Eddie’s eyes lifelessly stared at the piano. Music made Eddie feel like he was free, like he had no worries and he could just let it go. Let go whatever his mother told him. Today though, Eddie had no idea why he was so upset. Eddie got up and grabbed his bag and journal.

“Maybe I should just go to the diner,” he sighed to himself. “I’ll still make it.” Before leaving, Eddie heard shuffling on the other side of the door. He felt his whole body physically freeze. He prayed to god it was someone who didn’t know him. Eddie forced himself to move towards the door. Hand violently shaking, Eddie grabbed the door handle and pushed it down. All of a sudden the door swung open without warning. Eddie fell backwards.

“Holy shit I’m so sorry,” a familiar voice. A weird squeak noise left Eddie’s mouth.

“Richie what are you doing here?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Chapter 2

**Also if you were wondering, the original song Eddie wrote is a song I wrote. Obviously it’s hard to imagine because there is no music but yeah just if you were wondering**

Earlier on…

Richie watched Eddie walk off. Richie couldn’t help but laugh to himself. He ran a hand through his dark curls. He always had a soft spot for Eddie, he would never admit it but he did. Richie felt his cheeks going warm just thinking of Eddie and how adorable he was and-

“Yo Rich you coming?” A female voice interrupted. Beverly was standing there with a girl he didn’t know. He threw his arm around Bev’s shoulder, happy to see his best friend.

“Of course Red,” Richie smiled. “So you gonna introduce me?” Bev looked confused for a second before realising who Richie was talking about. 

“Oh this is Chloe. She’s a friend,” Bev said, slipping a hand into ‘Chloe’s’ hand and giggled. “Chloe’s joining us at the diner.” She shyly waved to Richie.

“Welcome to the losers club!” Richie declared. Chloe snorted. Richie noticed her eyes looked down in embarrassment. Bev tucked a strand of Chloe’s bright brown hair behind her ear before saying something Richie couldn’t quite hear. Richie could feel he was gonna have fun teasing the two. As the three walked to the school’s exit, Richie remembered that he left his wallet in his locker.

“Fuck, I left my wallet in my locker. You guys go ahead I’ll meet you at the diner,” Richie said. He gave a little salute before running off down the empty hallway, with the exception of a couple of students here and there. Richie almost reached his locker when something caught his attention, which made him come to a halt. Noise was coming from the music room. Richie was confused, yet intrigued. He backed up a few paces so that the music room was in front of him. A beautiful voice travelled through the door. Richie wanted to move but found he couldn’t. He was hypnotised. The sound went through his ear and didn’t want to leave. If Richie was asked to describe what he was hearing, he wouldn’t have been able to because he was lost for words. The voice sounded familiar to him. Suddenly the music stopped and was replaced with faint sobs. It was as if something clicked in Richie’s brain that made him lunge for the door. He grasped the door handle tightly as if it was the only thing he had left, before swinging the door open. Richie heard a thump and realised he knocked the person over.

“Holy shit I’m so sorry,” Richie said. The person made a weird noise.

“Richie what are you doing here?” Richie immediately recognised that. He quickly grabbed Eddie’s arm and helped him up. Their faces were inches apart now. 

“Eddie? That was you singing?” Richie asked amazed. Eddie tried to look at anything that wasn’t Richie.

“Y-yeah,” Eddie muttered, looking at the ground. Richie took Eddie’s smaller hand into his larger one. He stared into Eddie’s doe eyes, the ones that made Eddie look vulnerable. Fresh tears fell out of Eddie’s eyes.  

“Why are you crying?” Richie asked softly. He wiped the tears with his thumb. 

“You’ve caught me doing the least manly thing and I look like a fucking turd the moment” Eddie said. Richie nearly choked on air. How does having musical talent make a person any less manly? What’s wrong with NOT being manly? 

“Who put that pile of crap in your head?”

“M-my mom.” Richie felt his blood boil. Sonia Kaspbrak was a bitch and all of Eddie’s friends knew that, but this was too far. Richie pulled him close to his chest, running a hand through his hair. 

“That’s a bunch of bullshit,” he whispered in Eddie’s ear. Eddie looked up at him with a small smile. Richie’s heart melted at the sight. He just couldn’t handle to look at the boy standing in front of him. Richie took a deep breath.

“Eds I have a secret too, it’s only fair that I tell you it,” Richie said. Eddie raised his eyebrow in confusion. “I can play guitar.” Eddie pushed away from Richie, fury in his eyes. 

“Are you mocking me? What the actual fuck Rich that’s not something a friend does! You find out one of my most embarrassing secrets and lie about playing an instrument just to make me feel like crap and-” 

“I’m not lying,” he interrupted. Any person would be mad at how Eddie just acted, but not Richie. It was hard to imagine what that woman put in Eddie’s head. He made his way to the guitar stand and carefully picked up the rustic blue acoustic guitar before swinging the guitar strap over his shoulder. “Do you mind playing what you were playing before?” Eddie hesitantly sat down at the piano. He reopened his journal, glancing at Richie setting up the guitar. Richie gave the guitar a quick tuning before signalling for Eddie to begin. He played the notes printed on his journal’s page. Richie listened intently to pick up the sound. His long fingers strummed the thin strings. Eddie, though shocked and not being able to sing, continued to play. Oddly the melodies of the guitar and piano fit perfectly. Richie listened to the music and just let his fingers do the work. All of a sudden the piano’s music stopped playing. Richie’s head snapped up to see Eddie sighing. He gave him a look of confusion.

“I haven’t finished the song yet,” Eddie explained. Richie cracked a smile. Not a goofy one, a genuine, proper smile. 

“Maybe we can finish it on another day,” Richie smiled. He tried not to chuckle at how red Eddie’s face looked.

“Do you mean like a date?” Eddie choked out. Richie tapped his chin as he pretended to be deep in thought.

“Yeah, like a date.” It wasn’t thought possible but Eddie’s slightly chubby cheeks turned even redder. He took the guitar off his shoulders and placed it back. Richie picked up Eddie’s backpack and handed it to him.

“C’mon, let’s go to the diner.”

 

**If someone wants to draw fanart for this, I wouldn’t be stopping you *hint hint* XD**

**Peace out**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This really sucked....


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ACTUAL chapter 3  
> Y’all okay I got a plan. This fic will be updated once a month. So keep an eye out for chapter 4 on the 26th of May (or 25th of May if you live in the US)   
> {Sorry that it’s once a month, I’ve got a lot going on at the moment and I hope you understand :)}

 

“Yeah that’s basically what happened,” Ben chuckled. Bill laughed. He squeezed Stan’s hand subconsciously as he had his laughing fit. 

“S-so stupid,” Bill managed to say through laughs. The other losers joined in, except Eddie. His mind was somewhere else. What happened earlier that afternoon seemed to be the only thing Eddie could focus, like it was clouding every other thought he could have. The moment that him and Richie shared was still giving Eddie butterflies, and he didn’t know why. A warm hand touched Eddie’s thigh which caused him to snap out of his thought. Eddie’s eyes wandered to the person sitting next to him, heart racing, sweat forming on his forehead.

“Eds were you daydreaming about me?” Richie asked, smirk visible on his face. Eddie rolled his eyes yet the blush on his cheeks dared to expose him. Eddie shifted uncomfortably in the cushioned booth before taking a sip of his vanilla milkshake.

“How many times do I have to tell you it’s Eddie, not Eds,” he groaned quietly. Richie scooted closer to Eddie (if that was even possible) and slithered his arm around his waist. Eddie felt as if he’d jump out of his seat and it would be so high he’d hit the roof. He awkwardly leaned his head onto Richie’s chest. Bill, sitting across from Richie and Eddie, made direct eye contact with Eddie and winked. His whole body went weak. The duo always did stuff like this, holding hands, cuddling, but after this one afternoon it felt different. Awkward almost. Eddie knew he was gay, but he didn’t want to fall for his best friend. It wasn’t for the hate, Bill and Stan were an open couple and all the losers were really accepting and it was obvious Bev and Chloe has something happening, it was more that Eddie didn’t want to lose Richie. Richie’s always been there. Whenever Eddie called Richie in tears because of his mother, he rushed to Eddie’s house with snacks and their favourite comic books. Richie was one of the only people who, surprisingly, didn’t bug him on what Sonia did to make Eddie upset. Eddie wasn’t ready to lose Richie. He didn’t think he’d ever be. Richie playing the guitar with himself playing the piano made Eddie love Richie more though and slowly was eating him up inside. The small bell that hung above the door rung throughout the diner, followed by heavy footsteps.

“Eddie bear!” The retched voice exclaimed. Eddie’s heart stopped. He jolted up from his position. Eddie felt his throat go dry. Richie’s arm snaked away from Eddie’s waist, shock written all on his face. Eddie slid out of the booth, plastering a fake smile on his face. He made his way over to the large framed woman he called Ma.

“Ma, what are you doing here?” Eddie asked through gritted teeth.

“Well I thought I’d pick you up today, with all these diseases going around I don’t want you riding your bicycle unless absolutely necessary.” 

“But ma I-”

“No buts Eddie bear, come on we’re going now.” Sonia grabbed Eddie’s wrist firmly. He turned his head to face the losers and looked at them sadly. Richie glared at Sonia, Mike, Bev and Bill gave Eddie sympathetic looks, Stan frowned slightly and Chloe sat there confused. Eddie’s lip quivered as Sonia yanked him out of the diner. Richie turned to the losers.

“That son of a bitch,” Richie growled.

“Uh what just happened?” Chloe questioned. The losers turned to face her. Bev took both of Chloe’s hands into hers.

“Let’s just say that woman has broken Eddie in so many ways possible.” She looked at Bev intensely before turning back to eat her food. Richie looked back over the booth one last time, blood boiling, before taking a deep breath and trying to turn his attention back to the losers.

“Eddie will be fine,” Mike reassured with a small smile. Richie returned the smile though he didn’t believe it.

-Meanwhile with Eddie-

Eddie sighed as he rested his chin in his palm. Sonia glanced at her son before turning her attention back to the road.

“What did you do today honey?” Sonia inquired. Eddie didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to say anything. He thought that if he opened his mouth all the anger and frustration he’d bottled up about his mother would flow out of his mouth and he wouldn’t be able to stop. Sonia grunted when Eddie didn’t answer.

“Well Eddie bear?” 

“Normal high school stuff,” Eddie muttered. She looked at him skeptically.

“You didn’t stay behind and practise the piano again did you? You know how feminine that is, how it makes you seem like you aren’t a man.”

“No ma, I went straight to the diner.” Sonia smiled to herself. She was satisfied with Eddie’s answer. Eddie didn’t necessarily like to lie to his mother but it was something he did to protect himself. What Sonia didn’t understand was that she was hurting her only child, not helping. Once the car pulled up into the driveway of their home, Eddie immediately got out of the car and ran to the front door. Eddie ran inside since Sonia didn’t lock the door and ran to his bedroom. He blocked out his mother’s cries to help her out of the car, he ignored the sounds around him. Eddie flopped onto his bed with a loud sigh. He hadn’t told his mom a lot of things. For example him being gay. Sonia had always told Eddie being gay was an illness so it was something he kept quiet. Another being he went to the music room after school so he could do something he loved. _Eventually she has to find out, just not now_ Eddie thought to himself. Eddie took his pillow and hugged it like he was hugging the only person he truly loved. Richie. Little droplets of water hit Eddie’s pillow as he cried for the 3rd time that day. The sound of Richie playing the guitar filled his ears, just thinking of it made Eddie’s eyes droop. 

“Long day, time for some sleep,” he yawned. Eddie didn’t bother to change his clothes, he was to tired. As he got under the blankets of his bed, he felt sleepier. Eddie laid his head down and let his eyes close, that is until something hit him

_Oh shit, I left my bike at the diner_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m hope you guys enjoyed! This is like the only fan fiction I’ve ever written that I’m actually proud of XD it’s my pride and joy


	4. Not a chapter

So I just wanna know what you think of this so far and if you have any ideas before I continue writing. It’d be greatly appreciated to get to know what you like, some feedback and some suggestions

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, okay that turned out better than I though it would


End file.
